Portugal: the top destination

<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1"><b>A dream destination&amp;comma; with its bright sunshine&amp;comma; its seaside resorts and low-cost real estate&amp;comma; Portugal is attracting more and more tourists in France and around the world&amp;period; The Iberian region is of great interest to many Europeans, and in recent years it has found itself particularly in vogue&amp;period; Why this sudden craze for this beautiful country &amp;quest; What are the French looking for when they come to spend their vacations or even settle here &amp;quest; One thing is certain&amp;comma; this region, which has already become extremely attractive in recent years, has not finished being coveted&amp;period;<&sol;b><&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1"><b>An attractive destination<&sol;b> <&sol;span><&sol;h4>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1">Portugal enjoys a warm climate and proximity to the sea&amp;period; Its seaside resorts are a major asset for tourism in general&amp;period; If its dreamy beachfront setting is enchanting, so are its large urban cities&amp;comma; rooted in the country's history and culture&amp;period; To this image we can associate, for example, the beautiful cities of Lisbon and Porto&amp;period; City break par excellence&amp;comma; these two places are ideal landmarks for visiting globetrotters&amp;period; A few days' vacation to kill &amp;quest; Let's go to Lisbon or Porto &amp;excl; Indeed&amp;comma; these two cities are highly regarded not only by the French, but also by other European neighbors&amp;period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1">The destination appeals to young and old alike&amp;period; Attached to the Atlantic coast&amp;comma; Portugal is a magical place for surfers&amp;period; Indeed&amp;comma; the promise of great sensations is there for the &amp;OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;wave sportsmen"&amp;period; However, the elderly are not left out&amp;period; In 2014, for example, the first Lookea club in the Algarve region opened its doors&amp;period; The vacation group makes it easy to find more confidential and intimate relaxation spots&amp;period; All of which promises a moment of idleness for those seeking sunny tranquillity&amp;period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h4 class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1"><b>Vacations and more &amp;quest;<&sol;b> <&sol;span><&sol;h4>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1">For all these reasons, Portugal is an increasingly popular destination for holidaymakers&amp;period; The figures prove it&amp;period; In 2014, there were around two million French visitors&amp;comma; that's 20&amp;percnt; more than in 2013&amp;comma; 33&amp;percnt; more than in 2012&amp;period; So visitors to Portugal's coastline and its urban cities are on the increase&amp;period; However, it's not just the happy summer visitors who are interested in the country&amp;period; In fact, some simply decide to make Portugal their permanent home&amp;period; This was the case for 7,000 French people in 2014&amp;comma; three times more than in 2013&amp;period; Of these new arrivals, 80&amp;percnt; are retirees who have come to make the most of their free time&amp;period; So why so much eagerness for Portugal &amp;quest; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1">Firstly, the Maghreb has seen its popularity plummet due to the rise of Islamism and the fear of terrorism&amp;period; Holidaymakers have therefore sought out another subsidiary destination&amp;colon; inexpensive and seaside&amp;period; Secondly, the cost of living is 35&amp;percnt; less expensive than in France&amp;period; Not to mention a very low tax burden thanks to the RNH &amp;lpar;non-habitual resident&amp;rpar; status available to new arrivals&amp;period; This allows them to be exempt from income tax for 10 years, provided they live in Portugal for 6 months of the year&amp;period; What's more, property prices are relatively low compared with the rest of Europe&amp;period; In fact&amp;comma; between 2011 and 2013, Portugal suffered from the sovereign debt crisis&amp;period; This was responsible for a 30&amp;percnt; drop in the property market&amp;period; So much so that in 2014&amp;comma; one property in 5 was bought by a foreign investor&amp;period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><span class&equals;"s1">Considering all these positive aspects, and putting aside the language barrier&amp;comma; only one real obstacle remains to the definitive settlement of French people&amp;period; This is the health system&amp;comma; which is less efficient in Portugal&amp;comma; bothering potential buyers&amp;period; Nevertheless, it's also a market up for grabs for certain start-ups&amp;period; Indeed&amp;comma; small companies are now offering to help retired people with their health insurance&amp;period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p class&equals;"p1"><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;podcastjournal&period;net&sol;lauchene&sol;portugal-la-destination-phare&lowbar;a27&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Source<&sol;a><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;